Currently, the wire-feed device of a wire-processing system uses at least one intake roller and one pair of crimping rollers between which the feed wire is positioned. The two crimping rollers are mounted to rotate about two parallel axes so that their respective rotations occur in opposite directions. The two crimping rollers are then pressed against each other so that these rollers, being in contact, cause the feed wire to be movably guided along an axis perpendicular to the axes of rotation of these rollers.
In existing feed mechanisms, however, when a wire is not correctly tensioned on the crimping rollers or is knotted or tangled, the pressure exerted by the rollers between themselves and against the moving wire may, if this pressure is too great, cause the wire to break. This breakage, once detected, then requires the entire system to be stopped in order to effect a repair and impacts upon the quality of the entire reel of processed wire.
Considering the processing rate of existing systems, breakage of a wire paralyses the system and can quickly give rise to serious qualitative and quantitative consequences in terms of production.